Comments from “Plugged-In” Readers

I wonder if they are looking at ground floor retail space in any of the new condo buildings under construction on Market St. Are any of these retail spaces large enough? It is too bad they didn’t rent the complex Trader Joe’s considered, where CVS now plans to open up.

The CVS is currently on hold. Most of the retail space in the new construction wave is either committed (whole foods) or relatively small spaces. In fact, the new building at market and noe will have a 3500 square foot bank and three very small retail spaces bout 400 square feet each. An apple renovation of the former tower building would be welcome to me! Maybe the diesel can revert to a bank? Or a good restaurant.

Well, I am not exactly dreaming of Apple at the former Tower Records site. I could care less.
Radio Shack is not next door; in fact it is the sole remaining tenant of the Tower building. But who thinks that proximity to a Radio Shack would inhibit Apple in any way? The Castro is a high-traffic, wealthy and touristy area that could clearly support an Apple store, probably more than their Chestnut St. or Burlingame locations. I have yet to witness an empty Apple store anywhere I have been.
I doubt Apple would much care about what class the building currently is. They typically spend quite a bit of money remodeling their stores and this location certainly offers them an opportunity to create a store in their image, as it is currently rather dated.

@ formidable.
I agree about the Chestnut Street Apple store. It is not very big. In addition, the Diesel store would seem to allow for a second sales level, like the one on Stockton Street.
This sounds like an excuse, not a reason. Or, perhaps, some
negotiations are still under way. The Castro might still get a
second bite of this…oh, never mind.

I would be very suprised if Apple would place a location on Castro Street because it is too “up-scale” for this shopping strip.
Castro Street has unfortunately become at best a food court and really does not have a strong mix of retail merchants that would compliment the Apple image.
Castro Street is filthy, has a growing population of homeless, and because of the bar/nightlife scene, storefronts are prone to vandalism. The Muni station/bus lines would more than likely attract a less than desirable element in the store that would cause a high inventory shrinkage percent.

There is an entrance to BART/MUNI next door to the Stockton Street Apple store, so clearly proximity to transit is not a limiting factor.
The iPhones and iPads are chained down, so I don’t think theft would be much of a problem, compared to the clothing stores that line Castro Street.

Stonestown Mall is far more upscale as far as the Merchant selection (Nordstrom, Macy’s, William Sonoma, etc). Castro Street has merchants named “Rock Hard” or “Hand Job”, the closest anchor for Castro Street would be Pottery Barn (and they have been trying to dump the Castro location for a while.

I think the Castro would make a fascinating urban research project for what can go wrong with a neighborhood that should have so much going right for it. Although the Castro was a pioneer in the concept of gay neighborhoods, it is now left behind by much more affluent and desirable districts in other cities that attract scores of high end boutiques and restaurants and have some of the most expensive psf retail space in large urban centers. I cannot tell you how underwhelmed many gay visiting friends are after their pilgrimage to the Castro and how confusing the experience is for them after their own cities have had gay districts that have boomed in the last 20 years to have on average some of the highest housing costs and best retail and nightlife of the city in which they are from.
SJF is correct, even Stonestown is more upscale than the Castro, and I am not surprised Chestnut street has an Apple store while Castro does not.

I very much hope that the Castro never becomes the next Stonestown or Chestnut St, lined with chain stores. Rock Hard at least is a bit different from formula retail. (I wouldn’t mind if it became more like Hayes Valley.)

Wouldn’t APPLE be a “chain store” as well? I never understood the whole Bay Area definition of “chain store”. Peets is “o.k.” because it started in the Bay Area, but Starbucks is not, yet wouldn’t Peets be a chain store? Apple is local so “o.k.”? Pasta Pomodoro (no longer Bay Area owned) is acceptable, but Pinkberry (started in Los Angeles) is not. I loved the Ralph Lauren Rugby store (before it closed) in Cow Hollow, but is it wrong to shop there because there are Rugby stores in Chicago, NYC and London?